Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.57 EPS

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) released its earnings results on Thursday. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.57), Zacks reports.

Verastem Stock Performance

Shares of VSTM stock opened at $6.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $6.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.61. Verastem has a 52-week low of $2.10 and a 52-week high of $13.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.97 million, a PE ratio of -2.08 and a beta of 0.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VSTM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Verastem from $13.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Mizuho lifted their price target on Verastem from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Verastem in a report on Friday, January 24th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Verastem in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Verastem from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dan Paterson sold 8,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total value of $44,896.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 347,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,324.44. This represents a 2.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,988 shares of company stock worth $53,608. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

About Verastem

Verastem, Inc, a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing drugs for the treatment of cancer in the United States. Its product candidates are Avutometinib, an orally available small molecule RAF/MEK clamp that inhibits the ras sarcoma RAF/MEK, ERK mitogen activated pathway kinase pathway which is involved in cell proliferation, migration, transformation, and survival of tumor cells; and Defactinib, an oral small molecule inhibitor of FAK and proline-rich tyrosine kinase for various solid tumors.